Mohammed bin Salman, the
kingdom’s de facto ruler, has not spoken publicly about the killing inside the
Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Jamal Khashoggi: Prince
Mohammed bin Salman bares responsibility for his death.
Saudi Arabia’s crown prince
said he bears responsibility for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in
2018 by Saudi operatives “because it happened under my watch,” according to a
PBS documentary to be broadcast next week.
The CIA and some Western
governments have said he ordered it, but Saudi officials say he had no role.
The death sparked a global
uproar, tarnishing the crown prince’s image and imperiling ambitious plans to
diversify the economy of the world’s top oil exporter and open up cloistered
Saudi society.
He has not since visited
the U.S. or Europe.
“It happened under my
watch. I get all the responsibility because it happened under my watch,” he told
PBS’ Martin Smith, according to a preview of a documentary.
“The Crown Prince of Saudi
Arabia,” set to air on Oct. 1, ahead of the one-year anniversary of Khashoggi’s
death.
After initial denials, the
official Saudi narrative blamed the murder on rogue operatives.
The public prosecutor said
the then-deputy intelligence chief ordered the repatriation of Khashoggi, a
royal insider who became an outspoken critic, but the lead negotiator ordered
him killed after discussions for his return failed.
Saud al-Qahtani, a former
top royal adviser whom Reuters reported gave orders over Skype to the killers,
briefed the hit team on Khashoggi’s activities before the operation, the
prosecutor said.
Asked how the killing could
happen without him knowing about it, Smith quotes Prince Mohammed as saying:
“We have 20 million people. We have 3 million government employees.”
Smith asked whether the
killers could have taken private government jets, to which the crown prince
responded: “I have officials, ministers to follow things, and they’re
responsible.”
“They have the authority to
do that,” Smith describes the December exchange, which apparently took place
off camera, in the preview of the documentary.
A senior U.S.
administration official said in June the Trump administration was pressing
Riyadh for “tangible progress” toward holding to account those behind the
killing ahead.
Eleven Saudi suspects have
been put on trial in secretive proceedings but only a few hearings have been
held.
A UN report has called for
Prince Mohammed and other senior Saudi officials to be investigated.
Khashoggi, a Washington
Post columnist, was last seen at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2,
where he was to receive papers ahead of his wedding.
His body was reportedly
dismembered and removed from the building, and his remains have not been found.
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